


Trouble With The Gate

by its_too_cliche_24



Category: Haven (TV), Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-04 04:13:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18335951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_too_cliche_24/pseuds/its_too_cliche_24
Summary: The thing about being an older kid in the foster system is you had to get used to alotof bouncing around.It was a fact Daniel had practically ingrained in his mind.So when he wound up in the sleepy town of Haven, Maine, he figured it wouldn’t be for long.





	1. Chapter 1

The thing about being an older kid in the foster system is you had to get used to a _lot_ of bouncing around. It’d been several years since his parents died, and this was a fact Daniel had practically ingrained in his mind. Now he was almost at the point where he could just age out and didn’t have to deal with this crap. So when he wound up in the sleepy town of Haven, Maine, he figured it wouldn’t be for long. Whoever picked him up eventually spit him back out again, or he’d just leave.

Sure, the Glendowers were nice enough, albeit a little weird. They weren’t abusive like some of the other families he’d been with, and they didn’t seem like they were just in it for the paycheck either. But that could be easily faked. Especially with the amount of children they had running around. There was no way they could all be Cole and Gwen’s kids, seriously! Maybe they were addicted to having foster kids around. Whatever it was, they were really good people. Of course they would never replace his parents, but he was glad he could enjoy his stay for awhile.

And then things got weird.

Hushed whispers around town, anxious looks shared between neighbors. A sense of dread and fear hung in the air. Something about the “Troubles”. Whatever that was. Cole and Gwen wouldn’t tell him much, unsurprisingly. But at night he could always hear splashing and struggling in the lake outside and wondered what exactly was going on. And what exactly it had to do with everybody else in town. Especially Reverend Driscoll, who was preaching about sins in Haven more and more lately. He’d really taken a shining to Daniel, which was thoroughly terrifying. The man freaked him out enough, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do if he found out Daniel didn’t exactly believe in the big man upstairs.

Then he tried to ask Dave and Vince Teagues down at the paper, but they were so cagey that they somehow left him with more questions than answers. Maybe they weren’t the best people to ask.

Who knows, maybe the “Troubles” were just some weird townie thing and he didn’t have to worry about it. Hey, less stress for him!

If only anything could ever be that simple. People weren’t giving him answers, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Until one night he woke up to the sound of someone crying. Probably one of the younger kids, had a nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep. Daniel got up, yawned, stretched, yadda yadda, and followed the crying.

Odd, it sounded like it was coming from the bathroom. He stepped closer, reaching to open the door, and stepped in something wet. Water was leaking out the bottom of the door. Oh god, was he…

Daniel threw the door open, and saw water pouring over the sides of the old bathtub, and Cole…

“Get off of him!” Daniel yelled, shoving Cole away from the edge of the tub.

One of the youngest boys was limp under the water. No, no, he had to have been fast enough. Panicked, Daniel hoisted him out of the bathtub and onto the wet floor and began light chest compressions.

But the boy was breathing just fine.

Well, not fine, but he was breathing.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Daniel spun around, ready to defend that poor kid against Cole. He expected Cole to beat him into a pulp, but instead Cole just looked terrified and...concerned?

“We have to get him to a hospital,” Daniel growled, not moving.

Cole shook his head violently, and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, Gwen rushed into the bathroom, and covered her mouth in shock at the sight. She looked up at Daniel with the same expression Cole had. Slowly, she walked closer and gently laid a hand on Daniel’s arm.

“I know you don’t understand, and I’ll explain everything I can to you, but please…” she looked over at the boy helplessly, then back to Daniel, “let Cole finish doing this.”

At Daniel’s wide eyes, and generally perturbed expression, she squeezed his hand reassuringly. _“Please.”_

 

~~~

 

Daniel set his cup of tea down, glaring intently at Gwen. She held her cup of tea like the warmth tethered her to reality. Like she’d slip away otherwise. Minute shivers shook her body, but it seemed like she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice.

“The Troubles are back,” she said softly, just as Daniel was about to prompt her further.

“I’ve heard people talking about them before,” Daniel said evenly, “but what are they?”

Gwen sighed, giving him a half shrug.

“Nobody really knows. All we do know is they come every 27 years without any warning, and leave just the same. We don’t know how, we don’t know why. But when they do come back, certain people are… well… they have abilities.”

Daniel immediately let out a laugh. Sharp and harsh. Gwen looked over at him, eyes unfocused. Like she was still wrapped up in her own thoughts.

“They’re not evil people, despite what people say. And trust me, people will get crazy. They always do. But it’s not their fault they’re troubled,” she muttered, and Daniel wondered if she was talking to him or herself.

She met his eyes this time with focus, clear and crisp.

“They need protection, Daniel.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Daniel glanced over at Jack, who was currently up for first watch. Even though Daniel had volunteered, since there was no way he’d be getting to sleep any time soon. Not after that native attack. That one had definitely been too close for comfort. For some reason it’d really shaken him today, and he knew he wasn’t going to get much sleep. But no, Jack always insisted he take first watch. Stubborn bastard.

“Ask away.”

Best to keep his bitching to himself.

“I don’t know how I didn’t notice before, but that tattoo on your back, what’s it mean?”

_Whoops._

Usually he keeps that well hidden, but there’s only so much one can do to hide things like that in the locker room. Plus he was off world with Jack constantly, sharing tents, changing together, yadda yadda yadda. It was really only a matter of time before Jack saw it and started asking questions.

“Special club tattoo,” He stated, short and sweet. Even to himself that sounded sketchy.

“So you’re in a gang?”

“It’s not a gang!” Daniel barked, turning to send Jack a harsh glare.

When he looked up, however, he saw a pleasant smirk on Jack’s face. Oh, of course. He just liked seeing Daniel all riled up. With a shrug, Jack turned back to survey the surrounding area. Gah, he hated how easy Jack could get under his skin.

“Well, whatever gang it is, it isn’t one I’ve ever seen before, and _that’s_ pretty weird. I mean, I’ve _never_ seen that symbol before. Is it a maze or some weird family crest?”

_Smart move, Jack. Try to get me to talk by riling me up enough to correct you. Well, not this time._

Maybe it would’ve worked if he hadn’t been expecting this. Really it was just a classic Jack move, and Daniel knew him too well to fall for it. Or maybe protecting the secret was more overpowering.

He realized Jack was still scrutinizing him, a bit surprised Daniel hadn’t jumped on the chance to educate him and prove him wrong about it being a gang. Instead, Daniel stood and headed to their tent.

“It’s nothing important.” He said smoothly, shutting Jack out.

Shut him out just like the others tried to do with him, all those years ago. Except, he hoped Jack wouldn’t be as curious. There were some rocks that didn’t need flipped over.

“I’m just saying,” Jack stopped him from entering the tent, “you _are_ under my command after all. Can’t have you off willy-nilly doing God knows what.”

Rolling his eyes, Daniel turned to face Jack with a pointed glare. Hands on hips and all.

“Do I have to remind you that I’m a civilian, and oh, right, you don’t get a say in my personal life?”

The two glared for a moment, and Jack stepped closer to him. Trying to intimidate him and extract information. That was _not_ going to happen. Even if Daniel wanted to tell him, he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. He didn’t need to be locked in a padded cell again.

“You do realize I have the government as a resource and I could just look up your little _club?_ ”

Without thinking, Daniel burst into laughter, which seriously threw Jack off his “hardened military interrogation” game. Before he could get a word in edgewise, Daniel cut him off.

“Good luck finding anything.”

He was done - Daniel ducked into the tent. His secret was more than safe if Jack thought the government could help him uncover it.

 

~~~

 

The door to Sam’s lab flew open, courtesy of one disgruntled Colonel.

“Carter, I need your help.”

“What can I help you with, Sir?” Sam asked pleasantly, folding her hands on her desk.

He’d been in a mood lately, ever since their last off-world mission. Though he did try to hide it, she could tell it had something to do with Daniel. Just the other day, her Teal’c, and the Colonel were having lunch in the commissary, like any other day. As usual, Daniel was buried in his work, but that day he’d managed to come up long enough to pop in and grab a meal to go. But as he walked in, the look the Colonel had given him was almost indistinguishable. Irritation, concern, coldness… Left her wondering what exactly happened while her and Teal’c were sleeping.

She’s always had her suspicions about him, them. Not that she could ask, if she wanted to keep her job. Or his, based on what she thought. Of course she wouldn’t mind if she was right, not at all. Jack and Daniel, well, they were quite the duo. Sure they fought a lot, but Sam was 99% sure it was because of unresolved sexual tension.

However, she figured that wasn’t why the Colonel had stopped by her office.

“I need your help finding a symbol.”

Sam squinted. “A symbol? Would it be in the Ancient database?”

Jack ran a hand through his hair.

“No, probably not. I don’t think it has anything to do with the Stargate program.”

More squinting. Jack sighed.

“I tried looking it up, but I got nothing. And I can’t ask Daniel -”

“You can’t ask Daniel?” Sam interrupted, surprised.

What exactly was Jack doing that he couldn’t ask Daniel for help?

“Because, Daniel has a tattoo on his back and I asked him about it, and he was very...weird about it. I just want to make sure he’s not in with something dangerous.”

Aha. The old misdirected aggression. Sam knew for a fact if the two of them could hook up, then Jack wouldn’t give two shits about some random tattoo Daniel had. But hey, she could at least humor him since there wasn’t much they could do about the alternative. She wondered how long Jack had tried looking before coming for help. No matter, finding the meaning of a tattoo couldn’t be that hard.

She took the description from Jack and typed it into the computer, prepared to get exactly what he was looking for.

But she didn’t.

Several more attempts, a very detailed drawing from Jack, and more than an hour later, they still didn’t have anything about Daniel’s mystery tattoo.

Alright, maybe this was more than unresolved sexual tension.

“What are you going to do?” Sam asked, the search coming to an unsatisfying end.

With a disappointed sigh, Jack stood and stretched.

“He laughed in my face when I talked about digging into it, but I didn’t realize I wouldn’t get a single result,” He muttered, more to himself than Sam.

If that didn’t sound sketchy, then she should probably just resign.

“With all due respect, maybe you should drop it, Sir. Who knows what kind of people are involved in...whatever this is?”

“But Daniel is involved in it, and I don’t know what I’d do if he wound up dead because of it.”

He looked so dejected, so worried, and Sam was right back to where she started. Jack was definitely in love with Daniel. But if she said anything...well, maybe gambling her job was worth it.

“You love him, don’t you?”

Jack flinched.

“Wait - I - let me clarify - I have no problems with it, if you do,” Sam stammered, attempting to make it less awkward, “...Sir.”

A pang of guilt and sadness flashed across his face.

“Carter, don’t ask d-”

“To hell with that!” She cried, throwing her hands up in the air. “I knew you two had feelings for each other the moment I saw you interact, and it's complete bullshit that you can’t act on it!”

His only reaction was wide eyes and a tight lipped expression.

“Sir.”

Smooth things over a bit.

Their eyes were still locked, and Sam couldn’t tell what exactly Jack was thinking. Either she was right on the nose, or incredibly wrong. But when his shoulders sank and he turned away from her, it answered everything. Only hesitating a bit, she walked over and placed a reassuring hand on his back.

“Hey, it’s okay. We - me and Teal’c - we’ve known for a really long time. And if it's any consolation, we’re almost a hundred percent sure that Daniel feels the same way.”

At this, Jack snorted. Not that it surprised her. Daniel himself probably couldn’t convince Jack he cares about him. If only she could trick Daniel into revealing his feelings… that’d take a bit of cunning she’d need more time to plan out though. Maybe she could’ve used that to figure out what his tattoo meant. Maybe the tattoo only meant something to Daniel and that’s why they couldn’t dig into it…

That doesn’t matter right now!

“Even if he did - and he _doesn’t_ , Carter - we couldn’t act on it. You know that, everybody in my shoes knows it.” He looked over at her miserably, “It’s better for everybody if we leave my love life out of this and focus on what Daniel’s gotten himself into.”

A disheartened Jack O’Neill left her office. Well, this little endeavor had been enlightening, to say the least. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Daniel had the same feelings for Jack, but while she knew that she also knew how dangerous this situation was. For now, she had another dangerous situation to focus on.

 

~~~

 

Daniel knew something was up before Sam even sat down. There was no way she would waste valuable lab time to have a “friendly chat” with him. He should’ve known better than to assume Jack would drop it, when he actually should’ve assumed he’d call in for reinforcements. Who was next, Teal’c? Hammond? No, he couldn’t let it get that far out. This had to stop with Sam.

“Hey, Daniel!” Sam said in a far too chipper tone.

Jeez, it was like she wasn’t even trying.

“Let me guess, Jack told you about my gang tattoo,” He rolled his eyes, propping his head on his hand.

A blush spread across her face, but after registering what he said, her eyes widened. “So it _is_ a gang tat-”

“Jesus, Sam, of course it isn’t!”

Relief flashed across her face, until confusion settled in.

“Then why...what… why not just talk to Jack? He’s been going nuts trying to figure out what it is and it keeps distracting him. He drew me what I'm assuming is a near perfect replica because he's been so focused on it.”

_Think fast, Daniel._

“Why do you think? My personal life isn’t his business and I don’t have to answer his questions.”

Sam’s face almost fell, which was weird. Jack was always trying to control Daniel, didn’t Sam realize how frustrating that was? After a moment, she looked up at him expectantly. His answer wasn’t sufficient enough. He sighed.

“It’s just something a friend of mine wanted to try out, back in college. I was young and dumb and he was an aspiring tattoo artist and I wanted to help him out.”

There, that had to be good enough. Explains why there’s nothing online for it, at least. And he thought his back would be an inconspicuous enough spot. Somewhere no one would actively stare - wait, why was Jack staring at his -

“You know Jack is just looking out for you,” Sam said softly, standing up. “He _cares_ about you, Daniel.”

He snorted. Yeah, sure. Cared about the paperwork he’d have to do if he had to replace him. That’s all it’s felt like lately, Daniel was just an _employee_. Not a friend. And Jesus, that hurt.

So he had to carry on like it didn’t.

Sam looked like she was ready to scream, but Daniel didn’t know why. She had her answers and could report back to Jack just fine. And it wasn’t a secret that things had been rough between them lately, and she should know better than anybody. After all, her and Teal’c had to share a campsite with them, and anyone that close had to be sick of their bickering by now.

“Enjoy your lunch,” Sam muttered.

She left the commissary without another word.

At least she got what she came for.


	3. Chapter 3

“Daniel Jackson? He’s awake now, you can go see him.”

A kindly nurse nodded approvingly at him, and went on her merry way.

Daniel murmured his thanks, and headed into the room without another thought. He’d gotten word that one of his friends from back in the day came home from Afghanistan, with injuries. Luckily they had no offworld missions that he had to be a part of, and he was able to get a flight to the hospital they’d booked him in.

After all, he was the closest Guard.

“Daniel,” a creaky voice greeted him.

Wincing, Daniel noted that he was in bad shape. Anyone who came back from Afghanistan injured usually was, but this… he looked like he was right in the line of fire.

“How are you feeling, Dwight?”

“Like someone hit me with a truck,” he groaned, trying to re-situate himself.

Daniel opened his mouth to say something - probably more awkward smalltalk, but Dwight shook his head.

“Listen, my Trouble activated. Apparently I’m a bullet magnet. The middle of a war zone wasn’t the best place to be,” he winced in pain to emphasize his point.

That was one of the worst ones Daniel had ever heard of. One of the worst activation stories too.

“I’m sorry,” he tucked his hands into his pockets.

Dwight made him feel welcome when he joined The Guard, unlike a lot of others.They didn’t like that a “foreigner” without Troubled blood had the tattoo, but Dwight insisted that the more outside help they could get, the better. Still, not everybody liked it, and he was always an outsider. When Daniel moved away, joined the SGC and all (well, after he came back to Earth), he started a couple safehouses in Colorado. There were some people who helped him, but they considered him the head of this division.

“Do you think they’re coming back?” Daniel asked lowly, leaning against the hospital wall.

Dwight shook his head, grimacing. Looked like a movement he probably shouldn’t be making.

“No. Not...not like they will, at least. Mine came out because I was in the middle of a warzone. Just like the others who’ve dealt with their own high stress situations. But once we hit that 27 year mark…”

“They’ll be back for sure.”

“Yeah.”

“But so will she.”

“We hope. If Vince and Dave are telling the truth.”

“Well, half truths.” Daniel grinned a crooked grin over at him, making him laugh.

That was good to hear. The emotional baggage that came with a Trouble coming back was a lot for people to handle. When they all started coming back like someone opened the floodgates, they would need Lucy. Or whoever she came back as.

“Sorry to pull you from work,” Dwight apologized, then smirked. “Your top secret government job you can’t tell anyone about.”

Daniel rolled his eyes goodnaturedly.

“How does it feel having a secret life from both of your...secret lives?”

He poked Dwight’s knee, hard enough that it hurt but not hard enough to hurt the rest of him.

“You do realize I’m the one in the hospital, right?”

They laughed, then fell into silence.

“Do you want me to set you up in a safehouse?” Daniel asked quietly, already thinking about making the trip to get Lizzie from the rest of The Guard.

“No. No, I’ll be fine. I’ll head back to Haven as soon as I’m able too. They’re gonna need all the help they can get,” Dwight took a deep breath and continued, “but, I think someone saw me. Maybe he’ll write it off as stress in the heat of battle, but kid seemed smart.”

“What’s his name?” Daniel prompted.

This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been the “Cleaner”, as they called it. Dwight was way better at it than he was, but he could make do in a pinch.

“Sheppard. John Sheppard.”

“Alright. Don’t worry about it, I got it covered. Just, focus on getting better,” Daniel said sternly, glaring from over his glasses. All it got him was an eyeroll.

“Yeah, thanks, _Doctor_.”

A man that sarcastic would be just fine. And Daniel would be able to handle this Sheppard kid.

 

~~~

 

War did crazy things to you, and PTSD was no better.

Especially when you just got your first taste of the frontline battles.

John should’ve been dead.

He thought about it day and night since it happened, and after wracking his brain for a logical explanation, he decided there just wasn’t one.

The enemy had a gun pointed right at John’s face, and when he fired it, it flew right into the other guy’s side. There was no way the gun had been angled differently, because he was staring down the barrel. And he knew he didn’t roll out of the way in the nick of time, because he watched the bullet swerve.

He didn’t know how that guy did it, but he owed him his life. But he had to find him first, and thank him. Plus finding out how he did that would be a pretty big bonus.

And John wouldn’t stop until he did.


	4. Chapter 4

“Colonel Jack O’Neill?”

A tall man, blond, approached Jack. He looked like he hit the gym at least twice a day. Or was on steroids. Behind him was a woman who looked a little old to be going through her emo phase. She even had a pair of black gloves to complete the look.

Glaring at the intruders, Jack took another swig from the beer he held without answering. He wished he could sit inside, in the comfort of his own home, but there were too many memories there. Too many memories he couldn’t, _couldn’t_ relive right now.

Besides, who would possibly risk their safety to talk to him? Obviously they weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer. Or they just didn’t care. With a sigh, Jack realized that only meant one thing. And he was not in the mood.

“Not today,” Jack shook his head, voice dripping with hostility.

“I’m sorry?” The man asked, confused.

So that was how he was gonna play it.

“I’m not in the mood to deal with you NID bastards so you can just hightail it outta here and tell your people to try again some other time, but _not today!_ ” Jack shouted, standing up and slamming his drink down.

The man didn’t look intimidated in the least. No, instead he had the audacity to _smirk_ at him. He hooked his thumbs through the loops on his jeans and leaned back, observing Jack like he was watching a child have a temper tantrum.

“Maybe we have the wrong Jack O’Neill, Jordan,” He said, not looking away from Jack, “I don’t think Daniel would’ve left this grumpy old-timer as his emergency contact.”

Jack gasped like all the wind had been knocked out of him, leaving him gulping for air. A cold hand wrapped around his heart, squeezing to get as much pain out of him as it could. How dare he - he didn’t know that even the NID could be so heartless.

The man’s shoulders sagged, like Jack answered his question without saying anything. Behind him, the goth woman covered her mouth in shock.

“I was worried something happened, but everybody told me not to worry… I really didn’t want to be right.”

Momentary breakdown shoved aside, Jack regained his glared directed at the two strangers. They were really playing at knowing who Daniel was, but he wouldn’t fall for it. Hell no.

“Your story needs work. Daniel didn’t have friends.” He said bitterly, sinking into his chair, picking his drink back up. They’d leave. He’d make sure of it.

“That’s what we wanted you to think.”

The goth - Jordan - stepped closer, now standing next to the man. Jack noticed him step away from her, but it didn’t register with him. From the look on her face, Jack could tell she was all too aware of it. She shook her head, and put her hands on her hips, anger directed at Jack now.

“You didn’t know everything about Daniel, and neither did we. Look, we’re not looking into whatever he did with you, we just want to know what happened to him.”

She was a very brash woman, probably used to people bending to her. Well, this one wouldn’t bend.

Jack folded his arms across his chest and set his jaw. Not only was he not fully convinced these people actually knew Daniel, but he wasn’t just going to tell some random people about…about Daniel.

Jordan snarled, and popped the button on one of her gloves. The sound caught the man’s attention, who looked more distraught about Daniel than she did, and he jumped back.

“Jordan, _stand down_ ,” He pressed, voice unusually calm to match the unbridled terror in his eyes.

Her hand still hovered above her glove, ready to jerk it off. The look she gave Jack was full of loathing, even though they’d barely met. He had more of a reason to hate her than she did! The man put his hand on her arm, specifically her jacket, Jack noticed. He wasn’t sure if he should be afraid of… whatever was going on here, or if he should laugh. Probably not the latter.

Snarling again, Jordan ripped her arm out of his grasp and buttoned her glove.

“Please, just… Let’s start over. My name’s Dwight Hendrickson and that’s Jordan McKee.”

Dwight almost took a step forward, then hesitated. Jack realized he didn’t want to trespass on Jack’s property. With a sigh, Jack waved them forward.

“Pull up a chair,” Jack invited impassively, gesturing to the empty chairs nearby.

They awkwardly joined him, and nobody said anything.

For a very long time.

“So what’s with the gloves?” Jack asked, breaking the silence.

Jordan’s gaze turned hard, her walls immediately up.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She said sweetly.

That sounded awfully familiar.

“Contagious skin condition, you only catch it if you touch her skin though so we’re okay.” Dwight interjected, sending a look Jordan’s direction as he spoke.

Hm, well that was a blatant lie. Jack wasn’t sure who he trusted more, the woman who hated his guts already or the man who would say anything to gain his trust.

“I know this fantastic doctor, I’m sure she’d be more than willing to check-”

“No.” Jordan cut him off, a slight edge on panic to her voice.

At Jack’s skeptical look, Jordan went back to revise her statement.

“I mean, I’ve already had specialists look at it. They say my immune system can handle it as long as I stay on my meds, but no one can touch me,” she said quickly, tumbling over her words.

Jack didn’t quite believe her, but the sadness in her voice when she said no one could touch her, well, he believed that much. The way she spoke so fast, giving an answer as quickly as possible, it reminded him of Daniel’s ramblings. That he’d never hear again.

Dwight scrutinized him, sensing the shift in his attitude. This guy was good, ex-military maybe?

“What happened to Daniel?”

“As much as I’d like to tell you, it’s classified.” Jack said distantly, gaze dropping to his lap.

“But he died, didn’t he?”

Jack met Dwight’s gaze, and he gave a reluctant nod. Dwight’s face fell, and Jack knew exactly how he felt. Hope up until the last second, and world shattering disbelief when hope did nothing.

“Any sort of cover story you can tell us?” Dwight asked, voice strangled..

The cold hand was back, raking at his chest with razor sharp fingernails. A lump formed in Jack’s throat. No, no, just swallow it back down.

“Lab fire,” Jack said, words sticking thick in his throat.

“Dammit,” Dwight cursed, clenching his fist.

Jordan placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“We have to go tell Cole and Gwen,” Jordan said softly, and Dwight nodded.

“Wait - who are Cole and Gwen?” Jack asked.

More friends? That’d be surprising. Well, these two were surprising since Jack thought Daniel’s only friends were at the SGC. Why not add more surprises? The two shared a look.

“Daniel’s...adoptive parents.” They decided.

Jack shot out of his chair, pointing an accusatory finger at Dwight.

“Daniel was in the foster care system until he aged out, he told me himself!”

“Easy there, tiger,” Jordan rolled her eyes, “Daniel’s entitled to his secrets.”

Secrets? But they were, he and Daniel were best friends. They’d known each other for years and....how many secrets did he really have?

“Can you...do you know about them?” Jack asked, settling back in his chair.

“Would you tell us about what you do?” Dwight asked in return. Not accusing, just...tired.

“No, but this is government classified.”

“And this is classified, even from the government.” Jordan said softly, for a change.

Wait a second… Daniel had said almost the exact same thing about his tattoo.

That’s when he noticed the bottom of a black circle sticking out from underneath Jordan’s sleeve.

His eyes narrowed, and he looked up at them coldly.

“Does this have anything to do with Daniel’s tattoo?”

Dwight’s eyes widened, and Jordan cursed and pulled her sleeve down. They stood abruptly, Jack hot on their heels.

“What the hell are you involved in? What the hell was _Daniel_ involved in?”

Dwight turned suddenly, stopped in front of Jack. Jordan glanced back at them, hesitation in her gait. But she shook her head to herself and got in the car, slamming the door for punctuation.

“Daniel didn’t tell you about us to keep you _safe_. Trust me, he felt guilty about it, but he didn’t want you to get involved.” His expression was pained. “Outsiders tend to get hurt when they find out.”

He fell silent for a moment, drifting off into his thoughts. His gaze unfocused, staring right through Jack. All this talk about outsiders and how important it was to maintain the “secret” put Jack on edge. He wished Daniel were here to explain it all to him, to smile the smile that stole Jack’s breath away as he teased him for not seeing the obvious. The pain in his chest squeezed. When Dwight snapped back to attention, he met Jack’s eyes with a stern expression.

“I know Daniel, knew Daniel, believe me or not. I can't tell you how much you mattered to him, and he wouldn’t want to see you die trying to unravel his secret,” he gestured to the house, “or moping around. Trust me when I say that much.”

His eyes had so much meaning packed in them as he said his final words. It made Jack wonder how much he really knew.

No, Daniel would never disclose anything about the Stargate Program, he wasn’t the type. If he didn’t give Jack a clue about this exclusive boy band, then Jack was going to be seriously offended.

Then, how much did Dwight know about his and Daniels’ relationship? Their constant bickering but they were always there for each other. Almost always. And then the bickering became harder and harder to bounce back from. And for what, his own stupid feelings he didn't want to acknowledge? God, he’d really messed everything up.

“Thanks,” Jack said hoarsely.

Dwight nodded, and hopped in his car without another word.

Jack stood in the driveway, watching them go, and stayed there long after they'd left. Dwight was right, and it really bugged him. No wonder he was friends with Daniel, if they'd ever been in the same room with him Jack probably would've needed something stronger than cheap beer. If only.

After he felt like it'd been long enough, he began walking back to his house.

He could use some memories right now.

 

~~~

 

The door slammed behind Dwight as he got in the car. Silence swelled as they drove away from the O'Neill property.

"Do you think he handled the Sheppard situation?" Jordan finally broke it, glancing over at Dwight's somber expression.

It wasn't somber for long. As soon as she asked, his gaze darkened and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"Is that seriously all you care about? Daniel is _dead_. He's _gone_."

"That doesn't change the fact that we still have a job to do!" She shouted, punching a fist into the dashboard.

He clenched his jaw. Deep down he knew she was right. At the same time, however, she could show a little respect. Daniel never treated her differently, something even Dwight couldn't bring himself to do. Even when her trouble activated and Daniel found out the hard way what exactly it was, he never held it against her. He was more careful around her, but he never treated her like an outcast or a weapon - something the rest of The Guard had yet to learn. Yet here she was, too high and mighty to even pretend to be upset by the news.

"You have to know that I'm just as torn up about this," she said softly after a long pause of silence. When he said nothing, she continued. "I just also know that grieving can wait, but keeping our secret can't."

No response. With a sigh, Jordan looked out the window. It'd be a long trip to Haven.


End file.
